Sources say Weatherford is consolidating facilities in Broussard.
Sources with knowledge of oilfield giant Weatherford's plans for its Broussard site off U.S. 90 tell ABiz the company has purchased 60 acres behind the facility and hopes to eventually consolidate a number of Louisiana operations there.
Sources say Weatherford is consolidating facilities in Broussard.
By Leslie Turk
Sources with knowledge of oilfield giant Weatherford's plans for its Broussard site off U.S. 90 tell ABiz the company has purchased 60 acres behind the facility and hopes to eventually consolidate a number of Louisiana operations there. The Swiss company has offices and facilities spread out across the Broussard/Lafayette area, along with others throughout the state.
Weatherford operates in more than 100 countries and employs approximately 50,000 people worldwide. Its product and services portfolio spans the life cycle of a well, including drilling, evaluation, completion, production and intervention.
ABiz was able to confirm that 55,000 square feet of space are under construction at the Hwy. 90 site, which is in St. Martin Parish. Buzzy Thomson of Thomson Brothers Construction says that project, an approximately $4 million 40,000-square-foot jar facility and another 15,000-square-foot hub and spoke building, should be complete by mid-January.
Thomson says he is not authorized to speak about any other plans the company may have for the site.
Multiple phone calls to Weatherford facilities in the Lafayette area were not returned.
It does appear that the new facility may pull jobs from outside of the immediate area. Citing three sources who had been briefed on the plans, the Tri-Parish Times newspaper reported July 3 that Weatherford intends to relocate most of its non-manufacturing operations and more than 100 jobs away from Terrebonne Parish by next year. According to the Houma paper:
The relocation could come as soon as February 2013, one employee briefed on the plans said. Roughly 125 jobs would transfer with the company, though current employees who would be affected have been or will be offered positions in the new location, sources said.
The newspaper reported that it is unknown whether the consolidation is an effort to reduce the workforce, increase efficiency or streamline communication among offices.